Reviews tagging 'Adult/minor relationship'

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides

449 reviews

kshy's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I hated the twist. It would've been more believable if

Fosca had used Zoe to carry out the murders. That way, he wouldn't necessarily have been "innocent", but he also wouldn't have been the murderer, which obviosuly couldn't have been done, as it would've been too predictable. These are the issues that arise when you reveal the "killer" on the first page. It felt sloppy that Sebastian was the one revealed to have been writing the letters, because we weren't given any hints to the fact that he was evil at all. Is it believable that someone, specifically a THERAPIST, could be married to a person for over a DECADE, and not pick up on a single sign or clue that that person was actually a psychopath and had serious psychological isssues and childhood trauma??

I felt that a lot of loose ends were left unexplained, and it felt like the entire book was built up with a ton of information (some of it unnecessary) only for the ending to take a completely opposite and hasty direction.

Henry's presence in the story was completely unnecessary, and served no purpose. The author could literally remove the entire character from the book, and it would have no impact on the plot or our understanding of the other characters.

Also, I have to add that so much of the book was completely unrealistic, specifically with the main character.

Would any sane person ever, specifically a therapist who is used to and knows the inner-workings of troubled minds, WILLINGLY GO ALONE TO DINNER AT THE HOUSE OF THE PERSON THEY SUSPECTED WAS A SERIAL KILLER?!?? It'd be fine if the main character who did this was an unsuspecting, naive individual, but a therapist?!!! Who is extensively and professionally trained on the actions of psychopaths?? Also, the fact that Mariana dismissed Henry when he showed signs of self-harm and simply left without getting him help or calling 911 is wildly unrealistic for a character who is said to be a licensed therapist.

Some things I enjoyed about the book were the author's incorporation of and connections to greek mythology. I love when a book tricks me into learning something I didn't previously know, especially when it is done in an interesting way. I also thought the book was written well, for the most part, and had an intriguing vocabulary. The psychological aspects of it and how it analyzed characters from the mind of a therapist was very interesting, specifically in that it disected the human mind and how events in a person's childhood can alter their mind and impact them for the rest of their life. For that, and for the fact that I was interested enough to keep reading and finish the book, it gets 2 stars. When I began this review, I planned to give it 4 stars, but the more I analyzed and thought about it, the more stars I deducted.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol

leah_patenotte7's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

adelinebal4's review

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I came back like 6 months later to lower this rating from 3 to 2 stars. I’m not going all the way down to 1 because it was really fun up until the end and had a surprisingly accurate portrayal of how an offender like the one in the book comes to be… but I just really hate that twist more and more as time goes on. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Incest, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, and Murder

mayaep's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Stalking, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault

cowardthedog18's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the first thriller book I’ve ever picked up that kept me reading and my first time using audio just to hear it during class. I’ve never felt so close and related to an older character than I to grief, love, long, and feeling of betrayal knowing nothing will never be enough nor the same ever again. Now I’ll go to my local library and hope to find The Silent Patient by Alex and hope to find more thrillers like this in the future.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

mothie_girlie's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Violence, Blood, and Murder

randirush's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Drug use and Suicide attempt

marieeveparentroy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

c3liaiswhoiam's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

2.5

I was having a fine time with it, it was a quick and easy read. But the ending disappointed me. I was debating where it would fall between three and four stars as I was reading, but the last 50 pages really didn't do it any favors so this where we ended up. The twist was bad. 
Side note: One of the blurbs said "the twist blew my mind" which I can see why someone would feel that way but it's not for a good reason. Because it wasn't foreshadowed at all. It didn't give the book more depth. It was just shock value and it didn't make me feel like I should have known all along. There was no way to know. The hints were not there.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Murder

brookey8888's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This was so entertaining! 
Honestly, it was just vibes like nothing was happening, but a lot was happening and I was interested the whole time if that makes sense. I really liked the character‘s and the little dash of a romance. I did not see that ending coming like at all I was actually shocked , I don’t know this was really entertaining and fun it’s not the best mystery. I feel like but I wasn’t trying too hard to guess and I didn’t guess. I think this is my first like dark academia book and I ate it up. I’m excited to read the silent patient now because I saw those little Easter eggs about it. When I was reading, I actually had to stop and like scream a little and because I was like there’s no way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail